Man gets prison for scamming veterans program post 9/11

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man involved in a scheme that stole more than $24 million from a federal education benefits program designed to help veterans post 9/11 is now headed to prison.

New Jersey federal prosecutors said David Alvey received a five-year sentence Monday. The 51-year-old Harrisburg man had pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Alvey and two other conspirators aggressively marketed online courses to thousands of veterans who thought they were enrolling in accredited courses taught by faculty from Caldwell University in New Jersey. But they ended up in online correspondence courses administered by an unaccredited company the firm subcontracted.